Carson Toyota $6,000 mark ups?

Sounds like you need to get a friend and a recorder and have another go at it!...
Or even go back in yourself and protest the price etc and see what juicy stuff you get.....

then send it to Toyota .

 

Customer Experience Center If you would like to discuss your experience or share your comments, please call us. Toyota's Customer Experience Center representatives are happy to assist you.

Phone: 800-331-4331
Mon - Fri, 5:00 am - 6:00 pm PT
Sat, 7:00 am - 4:00 pm PT
Fax: 310-468-7814

Or send correspondence to:
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
19001 South Western Ave.
Dept. WC11
Torrance, CA 90501

http://www.toyota.com/about/contact/index....n=GM_TN_CONTACT

Can't hurt.

 

We've all heard some nasty stories about Carson... but keep in mind the poster just registered today and it's their very first post.

Competitor just trying to scare away business? Who can really tell?

One thing for sure, nobody (even Carson) holds a gun to your head and forces you to buy a car.

 

Yeah, there are better dealers than Carson, but I smell a rat in this post.

 

Over the weekend, I had someone send a private message about a warranty. They had just registered, and I thought it odd that their first words were about how I should get an extanded warranty.

Also too bad they were 6,000 miles too late...

 

It's possible. I got mine at Carson in April 2005 and paid MSRP.

 

I hope this story is inaccurate. If dealers markup that much, I can't understand why a customer would not check elsewhere before making a purchase. I even think we should not pay MSRP on a vehicle which is considerably less evil for the environment, while 3 ton Hummer owners get to what amounts as a $20K tax deduction on their first year of ownership.

 

I bought my car from Carson Toyota for MSRP on January 2 of this year. Called the Internet/Fleet department on January 1 for a quote on one of the cars listed on their online inventory and picked it up the next day with no hassle at all.

I don't know whether the post that started this thread is accurate or not, but I think there may be a difference between people's experiences there depending on whether they go through the Internet/Fleet department or whether they walk in off the street.

 

This is not the first person who has reported that Carson Toyota asked them for $6000 over MSRP. I really hope no one ever pays them that. The offer you get must vary by the whim and tendency toward evil of the particular sales person or sales manager. I guess some businesses will take short term profit over long term reputation.

 

That's possible, I got mine online as well.

 

Did you actually BUY the car for $6000 more than MSRP? WHY? Especially if you contacted other dealers and knew that others would sell for MSRP?

 

Did you drive the car off the lot yet? If you did, you are stuck with the add-on price. If you did not drive it off the lot, you can still (probably) back out of the deal since you have not taken delivery.

If you drove off the lot after signing the contract, then you have just learned a very expensive lesson.

At every dealer I've been to, there are signs everywhere telling you there is no cooling off period, and the only number that matters is the one written down on the contract. It doesn't matter what they told you verbally, if you sign a contract for the car at $6,000 or $60,000 over MSRP, that's what you owe.

There are exceptions if you are a minor or otherwise not legally obligated to fulfill contracts you enter into (i.e., mentally disabled, etc.) But for the most part, if you signed on the dotted line and then drove off the lot, you have agreed to pay that price.

If its any consolation, most of us feel we have been cheated by car dealers.

 

I'm trying to understand what you are saying ... did you sign the contract and drive the car off the lot, with the promise that you would come in with the down payment later?

If you signed, you are probably stuck with it. You could refuse to pay them the down payment, and call their bluff on repossessing it. While the sales manager might enjoy that, he also gets stuck with a used car. The problem is he can then sell it at a discount to a buddy and you still owe the difference between the price you agreed to pay and the price he sold it for (or the fair market value), and you don't have the car. That could be the $6,000 plus 10% to 20% of the car's MSRP. So you lose even in this case.

If they let you drive off the lot without signing a contract or paying them money, then its your word against theirs. Drop the car off and walk away. BUT, if you signed the contract, you are responsible for it, and its too late (unless you are a minor or otherwise not eligible to enter into contracts).

 

I understand that English is not your first language. "Minor" means you are under 18 years old. If you are under 18, you can't legally sign the contract. If you bought a car, you could probably get out of the purchase because you can't legally sign the contract.

If you are not under 18 years old, you are not a "minor". I think you are probably older than 18. You are probably stuck with the price you agreed to pay. You could get a lawyer and claim you were taken advantage of because of the language difficulty. But that would cost more money and you might not win.

 

Your city has many immigrant people. Ask your friends or look in the yellow pages of the telephone book for a Legal Aid Service. Some very smart people have dedicated themselves to helping people who have been treated like you describe.

 

Hi All,

I just scanned this post and a few things leapt of the screen at me. Someone above commented that this post seemed "fishy" because the poster is brand new. Not everyone finds the wonderful, supportive and very informed PriusChat community BEFORE they own their car. Even I, who was a very informed purchaser before I drove my baby off the lot did not discover this resource until my car was 3 weeks old - a full 5 weeks total from the date I had started my search for my car.

Also, another poster mentioned that someone asked a question about warranty info and was again "new". Hey folks, we all have to start somewhere. How do we know that the person had not been "lurking" for days or weeks before they decided to jump in to the pool.

As for the unfair business practices alleged at Carson, while they have been great for alot of people, I for one was not among them. When I called to ask about the cars 1 year ago, and spoke to the fleet department, before you ask, I was told that the cars were sold at MSRP. Sound's fine right? But, by this time I had gotten a bit savvier and I asked if they added any "fair market pricing" to the MSRP and... volia! This was the magic question, phrased correctly to elicit the response I really was looking for. Yes, they told me without hesitation, and that there was an additional $2000 involved at the conclusion of the purchase.

Needless to say, my car did not come from there. Now they are by no means alone here, Crown Toyota in Ontario tried the same thing, but they were even sneakier about it not adding the fee in until a guy from finance (even though we had financing in place walking through the door and all the dealers we talked to know this from the git go) was writing up the quote.

My car was purchased at Claremont Toyota for MSRP, nothing added, no funny business, pretty cut and dried. They did not ask for a deposit of any sort and even held a pkg 3 for 1 1/2 weeks(without even putting it out on the general lot) without any commitment to buy from them to try to trade another dealership for the color I thought I wanted at the time. The oil changes are included for the lifetime of the ownership of the car as well for no extra fee.

When the time comes, I know where I will go first to get my next Prius.

By the way, just so you know, the were indeed doing the same thing every other dealership was/is/maybe doing and offering the cars on the general lot with the "fair market pricing" fees posted boldly on the window right next to the sticker (at least displaying it right up front seems more fair to me than trying to slip it in after you are "in love"). I am reasonably sure that if you were to walk in off the street and did not go straight to the fleet department as I did, you probably would have been confronted with the pricing overage.

If interested, Dave Castillio is the man I dealt with and if you speak with him tell him Tisza Swanberg sent you and say's "Hi".

I do agree with all the folks that said that if they signed on the dotted line, the game is pretty much over and Carson Toyota (and all the other dealerships playing this game) won. If not, run, don't walk as fast as your legs will carry you to Kearny Mesa, Claremont, Diane in the Fleet department at Carson (if you are determined to stay with them) or any of the myriad of other dealerships that will treat you more fairly.

I still think that some of the folks selling these cars are forgetting that right now the Prius really still has the field all to itself, but things will change and in the not too distant future they may actually have to work to sell this car just as much as they have to when selling other models on the lot. Smart money (and even smarter dealers) would do well to look down the road just a bit and cultivate their customer's and potential customers with care. One good commission does not a career make.

Have a super day all and take care,

Tisza

 

I believe people can get $2,200 off of MRSP if they are willing to travel to Virginia. I signed up for this and have heard that people are getting this same deal of $2,200 off of MSRP from Sarah Baumgartner of Miller Toyota 703-396-5026. Jet Blue has cheap one way fares to Dulles International Airport (ex. $99 one way from San Diego, CA to Dulles International Airport Virginia) - the most inexpensive airline at this airport. I heard from one person that Miller Toyota (Sarah) offered to pay their taxi ride from the Airport to the dealer (about 25 minutes according to Mapquest).

This might be a viable alternative for someone!

I signed up with Sarah and she was great. I posted elsewhere about this deal, and people who have been purchasing from her (same $2,200 off MSRP) have been happy with how they were treated and their purchasing experience (no hard sell for stuff you don't need).